Literally hours was actually about 30 minutes for six games you didn't even need to win. I also second the notion that MP was probably the best aspect of 3. I think the game is pretty bad but I put hundreds of hours into the MP.

At least some of the team at BioWare Montreal, the studio behind Mass Effect: Andromeda, is being retasked to other projects. Kotaku reports, citing anonymous sources, that the studio is being “scaled down” and that the Mass Effect franchise is going on “hiatus.” Reached for comment, studio director Yanick Roy spun things somewhat differently.

“Our teams at BioWare and across EA put in tremendous effort bringing Mass Effect: Andromeda to players around the world,” Roy said in a statement provided to Polygon. “Even as BioWare continues to focus on the Mass Effect: Andromeda community and live service, we are constantly looking at how we're prepared for the next experiences we will create.”

"The world is populated in the main by people who should not exist." - George Bernard Shaw

Though doesn't EA do this to every studio it takes over? It buys them for an IP, starves them of resources while they produce the next version of the IP, then kills the studio because it's disappointed with the outcome.

EA always seems more ham fisted about these scaling back after launch but isn't this pretty much business as usual after a product launches? Drop the production team back to support and move everyone else to other things.

Though doesn't EA do this to every studio it takes over? It buys them for an IP, starves them of resources while they produce the next version of the IP, then kills the studio because it's disappointed with the outcome.

Nah, as shitty as EA are this isn't on them at all. After the disaster that was ME3s ending (which was entirely on Bioware's writing), EA gave them funding for the free additional ending and multiple DLCs. Bioware spent *5* years in development on this game with EA funding them, and they had this mess to show for it. If I were in EAs shoes I'd be making the same decision, which is hard to say as a diehard ME fan. Bioware fucked up with this game and the blame is on them - they apparently wasted at least a year proto-typing a No Man's Sky style of game before scrapping all of that.

Listening to vocal minority of fans who wanted ME1 back, instead of the general gaming public that still thinks ME2 was the best game in the series, was a huge mistake for Bioware I think.

Though doesn't EA do this to every studio it takes over? It buys them for an IP, starves them of resources while they produce the next version of the IP, then kills the studio because it's disappointed with the outcome.

Nah, as shitty as EA are this isn't on them at all. After the disaster that was ME3s ending (which was entirely on Bioware's writing), EA gave them funding for the free additional ending and multiple DLCs. Bioware spent *5* years in development on this game with EA funding them, and they had this mess to show for it. If I were in EAs shoes I'd be making the same decision, which is hard to say as a diehard ME fan. Bioware fucked up with this game and the blame is on them - they apparently wasted at least a year proto-typing a No Man's Sky style of game before scrapping all of that.

Listening to vocal minority of fans who wanted ME1 back, instead of the general gaming public that still thinks ME2 was the best game in the series, was a huge mistake for Bioware I think.

Every current and former Bioware employee I've seen post in places and talked to myself have always said EA was very hands-off with pretty much anything Bioware did. Signs point to Bioware Montreal biting off more than they could chew in a fit of hubris, and EA gave them enough rope to hang themselves.

About the only thing I could potentially see laying at the feet of EA themselves is if they mandated Frostbite as the engine.

Frostbyte is mandated by EA, so there's that. But on the other hand, I think Dragon Age actually looks better most of the time and that's a cross gen game from 3 years ago. It really does feel like Bioware Montreal were just not up to the task of making a full game - they produced some sub-par DLC for the original series, plus the original fantastic ME3 Multiplayerr, and then were allowed to have a go at a full scale game for god knows what reason.

It's really not a bad game. Not quite as good as ME2 but a lot better than Andromeda. I'm playing Andromeda now and I honestly don't give a shit about any of the companions. Horrible writing and not what I expect from a Bioware game at all. Jesus, the characters in Baldur's Gate are better and more likeable.

BioWare Montreal was relegated to a "support studio" role back in May, following the tepid reaction to Mass Effect: Andromeda, a reduction in status that saw a number of its employees moved to the also-Montreal-based EA Motive. During a conference call earlier this month, however, EA CFO Blake Jorgensen revealed something deeper was going on when he said that the entire studio had actually been moved into Motive's offices.

"We're building out a new studio in Montreal, as we've told everyone. And we've hired over 100 people into that studio that are brand-new to EA. This is to build the new IP around Jade Raymond's team that she's been building," Jorgensen said. "It's a wonderful new addition to our team. And we brought our BioWare Montreal team into that same facility. So they now all sit in one new studio together."

And if you get the feeling that maintaining two studios in one building isn't a situation that's likely to last—especially when one of them has recently been downgraded to a supporting role—well, you're on to something. EA confirmed in a statement sent to Techraptor that BioWare Montreal is being folded entirely into Motive.

"The teams in EA Worldwide Studios are packed with talent, and more than ever, we’re driving collaboration between studios on key projects. With multiple major projects in development in Montreal, we are merging BioWare Montreal with Motive Studios. This is an ongoing process, but there are many exciting roles and opportunities for everyone on the team," EA said.

"BioWare continues its work on new titles – including the highly-anticipated game, Anthem. What’s coming next for BioWare is very exciting, and we’re thrilled to have Casey Hudson returning to lead the studios in Edmonton and Austin.”

EA Motive, founded by former Assassin's Creed producer Jade Raymond, is currently working on Star Wars Battlefront 2, as well as an untitled Star Wars project being developed in conjunction with Visceral.

It's not really "everyone's fired!" but the studio is effectively no more.

"The world is populated in the main by people who should not exist." - George Bernard Shaw

It's for the best. Game was a mess in so many ways. Even the multiplayer was a step down from ME3, which is sad considering these were the guys who did the ME3 multiplayer. Bioware will be in serious trouble if Anthem and DA 4 don't do well (personally I have zero interest in either; DA:I killed any interest I had in that franchise and Anthem's game style has no appeal to me).

It's for the best. Game was a mess in so many ways. Even the multiplayer was a step down from ME3, which is sad considering these were the guys who did the ME3 multiplayer. Bioware will be in serious trouble if Anthem and DA 4 don't do well (personally I have zero interest in either; DA:I killed any interest I had in that franchise and Anthem's game style has no appeal to me).

I enjoyed the multiplayer but I was having a LOT more rubber banding issues in it than I ever did on ME3 which made for some frustrations.